‘Absolutely Criminal’: Golf World Rages at Carlota Ciganda for Causing Hindrance for LPGA Colleagues

Among the many waves 2024 brought to the golf world, the slow pace of play remains one of the most widespread problems. After all, players and viewers alike, no one likes to wait as some of the golfers delay the entire group’s game and go penalty-less as they step away from the schedule. Despite the dislike, however, this problem seems to be widely apparent.

Most recently, this has been witnessed on the LPGA Tour, with Carlota Ciganda being the new culprit. During Round 3 of the JM Eagle LA Championship, the Spaniard was the first person to tee off as a single. However, the slow play from her end is reported to have led the group behind her, consisting of Jasmine Suwannapura and Alexa Pano, who teed up with an initial difference of 5 minutes, to wait on the 4th tee for several minutes, past the scheduled time.

This has instigated widespread agony in the already-triggered golf world. Even though the young amateur Anna Davis faced the wrath of slow play protocols at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the same has not been the case at professional events on both the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour. Goflers such as Wyndham Clark, and Patrick Cantlay did not face any penalty when they engaged in the slow pace of competing on the greens.

The LPGA Tour sensation, Nelly Korda, also opened up about slow play being one of her biggest pet peeves. She revealed that she despises it, and it drives her to the wall. She had to face a similar slow-play situation on the final day of the Chevron Championship. Talking about how she tackles it usually, she said that she moves to her tee shot just about when it is time. The golfer withdrew from the tournament and, hence, did not become a victim of Ciganda’s slow play.

While some fans tried to be more understanding of the situation Ciganda found herself in, others remained stringent in their strong viewpoint against the pace-of-play problem.

Fans react to Carlota Ciganda’s slow pace of play

An angry X user said, “Absolutely Criminal! The tour has to fix this while they have steam or it’s going to be devastating to the future,” highlighting the need for timely change to be implemented by professional Tours. Time and again, the problem of slow play has riddled the golf world. While a few golfers like Patrick Cantlay continue to voice their support for taking time on difficult courses, the vast majority seem to be against the extremely elongated tee times taken by the likes of Carlota Ciganda.

Not all fans of the game, however, were full of angst towards the 33-year-old. Some of the fans not only understood the contextual grounds that led to such a delay, but they were also appreciative of the double birdie that Ciganda made on the fourth. One fan empathetically said, “For context, she also made double on 4 and her tee time was just five minutes before the group behind her.”

Another netizen suggested, “You have to be egregiously slow for this to happen. A penalty should be assessed,” highlighting the need for penalization on golfers to curb the rising problem of frustrating slow play. While theoretical policy measures remain existent on this matter, the LPGA Tour’s resistance to their practical implementation has been below par expectations, so far.

Yet another fan said, “I hereby call for the “Locust Rule” to be implemented. If a single is caught by the group behind, they are automatically DQ’d. incentivize the group behind to play fast to eliminate competition, and incentive by the single to not be an absolute dunce by getting caught by a group.” This suggestion comes as an alternative to the persistently burning problem that the Tours face. In such a scenario, both groups will not only be incentivized to play faster but will also keep a check on one another.

What are your remarks on slow play? Let us know in the comments below.